Critical Review by Alice Fulton

In the following excerpt, Fulton praises the sincerity and simplicity of Mueller's verse in Second Language.

Reading Lisel Mueller's fourth book, Second Language, is a bit like gazing at a lake or a tree. At first you think nothing new here: another wave, another leaf. But if you bring your full attention to bear, you're amazed at the implication and activity of an apparently simple surface. Like so many plain-style poems, these equate invisibility of craft with authenticity. The important difference here is that one does not feel manipulated by a disingenuous sincerity. There is no see-how-sensitive-I-am posing, no subtext of self-congratulation. Instead, the sensibility couples kindness with intelligence.